The present invention relates in general to stirring mechanisms and, in particular, to a new and useful stirring mechanism for clearing vats employed in breweries, which is electric motor driven through a worm gear and is designed to be mounted on or below a vat-type vessel, and which comprises a stirrer shaft centrally mounted in a gear housing and an elevating mechanism equipped with a separate power drive for vertically adjusting the stirring member to a level suitable for the filling and working operation.